Baccarat is one of the many live table games played in casinos or gaming establishments. Baccarat uses a standard deck of 52 playing cards and is usually dealt from a shoe having multiple decks that have been shuffled together prior to the beginning of play.
The object of the game of Baccarat is for the bettor to successfully wager on whether the Bank's hand or the Player's hand is going to win. The bettor receives even money for his wager if he selects the winning hand and loses his wager if he selects the losing hand. Because of the rules of play of Baccarat, the Bank's hand has a slightly higher chance of winning than does the Player's hand. Therefore, if the bettor wagers on the Bank's hand, the bettor must pay to the gaming establishment a commission (typically, 5%) of the amount the bettor wins. No commission is paid if the bettor successfully wagers on the Player's hand.
As used in this specification, the term "Conventional Manner of Play of Baccarat" is as follows:
A multiple number of decks of standard playing cards, 52 in number, are used; typically eight decks are shuffled together and placed in a shoe from which the cards are dealt during the play of the game.
Each bettor makes a wager on whether the Bank's hand or the Player's hand will win. After all wagers are made, two cards are dealt from the shoe to the Bank position and two cards are dealt from the shoe to the Player position on the table layout. The cards are turned face up and the value of the Bank hand the Player hand is determined.
Aces count one; Kings, Queens, Jacks and Tens count zero and the other cards count their respective face value. The suits (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs) have no meaning in Baccarat.
The highest hand value in Baccarat is nine. All hand values range from a low of zero to a high of nine. If when the cards are added together, the total of the hand exceeds nine, then the hand value is determined by subtracting ten from the total of the hand. For example, a seven and a eight total fifteen, but the hand value is five. An Ace and a nine total ten, but the hand value is zero.
A two card total of eight or nine is called a "natural"; a two card total of zero is called a "baccarat". As will be explained below, in certain situations in the play of the game, a third card will be dealt. The value of this third card is added to the total of the first two cards and a new hand value is established. Again, if the new hand total exceeds nine, the hand value is determined by subtracting ten from, the total of the hand.
Prior to the deal, each bettor can make one of three wagers: 1) that the Bank hand will win; 2) that the Player hand will win; or 3) that the Bank hand and the Player hand will tie. Wagering locations are provided on the Baccarat table layout. Whichever of the Bank hand or the Player hand is closest to a total on nine is the winner.
All winning Bank hand wagers are paid off at odds of one-to-one and the house charges a five percent (5%) commission (also known as the vigorish or the "vig") on the amount won by the bettor. For example, if a bettor wagers $100 on the Bank hand and the Bank hand wins, the bettor wins $100 and is charged a $5 "vig" on the amount that the bettor won. The bettor is not charged any "vig" on the amount of his wager.
All winning Player hand wagers are paid off at odds of one-to-one and the bettor is not charged any "vig" on the amount of his winnings or his wager. Winning wagers on the Tie hand bet are paid off at odds of nine-to-one or eight-to-one (depending on the gaming establishment) and the bettor is not charged any "vig" on the amount of his winnings or his wager. If a Tie hand occurs, all wagers on the Bank hand and all wagers on the Player hand are "pushes" and the amount wagered is returned to the bettor.
A typical Baccarat table layout is an oval with positions for the casino dealers along one side of the oval and usually twelve bettor locations, six at each end of the oval. The bettor locations are numbered one through twelve and each bettor location has an area designated for a wager on the Bank hand and an area designated for a wager on the Player hand. Locations are provided on the table layout where the cards comprising the Bank hand and the cards comprising the Player hand can be displayed. Also in the approximate center of the table layout are twelve "vig" boxes numbered one through twelve in which the casino dealers keep track of any commissions or vigorish owed to the gaming establishment by each player.
The play of Baccarat typically uses three casino dealers to operate the game. The casino dealers jointly participate in the shuffling of the eight decks of cards. After the shuffle is completed, one of the participants is asked to cut the decks using a plastic cut card. The dealer then separates and restacks the cards from the point of the cut and a participant then inserts the plastic cut card no less than fifteen cards from the end of the stacked decks and the entire stacked decks are placed into a shoe from which the cards are dealt during the play of the game. When the inserted plastic cut card appears during play, the hand in progress is completed and that round of play then ends. The cards are reshuffled to prepare for the next round of Baccarat.
At the beginning of a round of play and after the decks have been placed in the shoe, the dealer deals the first card from the shoe and turns it face up on the Baccarat table. The value of this card determines how many additional cards are removed or "burned" from the shoe before the actual play commences.
In conventional Baccarat, the bettors deal the cards used in the game. Initially, one of the casino dealers (called the "Caller") passes the shoe to the bettor sitting in seat number "1" at the Baccarat table. After all wagers have been made, the Caller tells the bettor with the shoe to begin the deal. The bettor deals a first card to the Caller, a first card to himself, a second card to the Caller and a second card to himself. All cards are dealt face down. The two cards given to the Caller represent the Player hand and the two cards kept by the bettor who is dealing the cards represent the Bank hand.
The Caller then allows one of the other bettors to turn up or "face" the Player's hand. Traditionally, this honor is given to the bettor who has made the largest wager. The bettor "faces" the two cards of the Player's hand and tosses them to the Caller. The Caller places these two cards face up in the table location designated for the "Player Hand" and the Caller announces the point total of the Player hand.
The bettor who has the shoe then "faces" the Bank hand and tosses these two cards to the Caller. The Caller places these two cards face up in the table location designated for the "Bank Hand" and the Caller announces the point total of the Bank hand.
Depending on the point total of the Player's hand and the Dealer's hand, one more card may be dealt to either the Player's hand, the Dealer's hand or both. The rules for determining whether a third card is dealt are fixed rules, there is no discretion for either the Player's hand or the Dealer's hand on whether a third card is dealt.
If either the Player hand or the Dealer hand has a point total of eight or nine on the first two cards, no third card is dealt to either hand and the hand with the highest point total is the winner (or the hand is a Tie, as the case may be). If neither the Player hand or the Dealer hand has a point total of eight or nine, then there is a possibility of a third card draw.
The third card draw rules are as follows:
Rule #1: If the initial two card Player hand has a point total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the Player hand draws a third card. If the initial two card Player hand has a point total of 6 or 7, the Player hand stands and does not receive a third card. PA1 Rule #2: If the Player hand stands and does not draw a third card, then the Bank hand follows Rule #1. In other words, if the Player hand has a point total of 6 or 7, the Bank hand draws a third card on a point total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the Bank hand stands on a point total of 6 or 7. PA1 Rule #3: If the Player hand draws a third card, the Bank hand must draw or stand as follows:
______________________________________ Bank hand Bank hand DRAWS Bank hand STANDS two card when the Player's when the Player's point total hand third card is: hand third card is: ______________________________________ 0, 1 or 2 Bank always draws 3 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 9 8 4 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 0, 1, 8 or 9 5 4, 5, 6 or 7 0, 1, 2, 3, 8 or 9 6 6 or 7 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 or 9 7 Bank always stands ______________________________________
All third card draw determinations are automatically made by the Caller who is skilled in the game of Baccarat.
The complete winning hand rules and the third card draw rules of conventional Baccarat are set out graphically in Table 1. as follows:
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ BACCARAT RULES--- ______________________________________ PLAYER HAVING TWO CARD TOTAL OF ______________________________________ 1-2-3-4-5-10 DRAWS A CARD 6-7 STANDS 8-9 TURNS CARDS OVER ______________________________________ BANKER HAVING DRAWS WHEN DOES NOT DRAW TWO GIVING OR WHEN GIVING OR CARD PLAYER'S PLAYER'S THIRD TOTAL THIRD CARD CARD DRAW OF DRAW IS AN IS AN ______________________________________ 0, 1, 2 ALWAYS DRAWS 3 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-9-10 8 4 2-3-4-5-6-7 1-8-9-10 5 4-5-6-7 1-2-3-8-9-10 6 6-7 1-2-3-4-5-8-9-10 7 STANDS 8-9 TURNS CARDS OVER ______________________________________
When the rules of Baccarat require a third card for the player hand, the Caller will request a "card for the Player." After the Player hand is completed, the Bank is completed in the same fashion. The Caller then declares which hand has the highest point total and declares that hand the winner (or the Caller declares a Tie hand as the case may be).
The bettor who is acting as the dealer continues to hold the deal until the Player hand wins. As soon as the Player hand wins, the shoe passes counterclockwise around the Baccarat table to the next bettor so that each bettor has the opportunity to deal the cards. Each bettor holds the shoe and continues to deal until the Player hand wins and then the shoe is passed to the next bettor. Any bettor may decline to deal the cards. The fact that one of the bettors is physically dealing the cards has no affect on the outcome of the game because the rules for drawing and standing do not allow any discretion on the part of the participants.
At the end of each hand, winning wagers are paid and losing wagers are collected by the house. Any "vig" due to the house is marked in the "vig" boxes in the center of the table layout. Gaming chips are used to represent the amount of money owed by each bettor to the house for the "vig". In order not to slow down the game, the "vig" is not actually collected from each bettor until the end of the round determined by all of the cards in the shoe being dealt down to the plastic cut card, usually approximately eighty hands.
The mathematical analysis of the game reveals that the 5% "vig" is what gives the house its advantage and allows the gaming establishment to make a profit from providing the Baccarat game to the bettors. Because the rules for standing and drawing third cards are automatic, the mathematical analysis shows that the Bank hand will win 45.8% of the hands, the Player hand will win 44.6% of the hands and the Tie hand will occur 9.6% of the hands. If the Tie hands are disregarded because they do not affect any Player or Bank wagers, it is then determined that the Bank hand will win 50.7% of the time and the Player hand will win 49.3% of the time.
Because the Bank hand wins more than 50% of the hands (disregarding the Tie hands that do not affect any Player or Bank wagers), if a bettor always bet on the Bank hand, the bettor would have an advantage over the gaming establishment. By charging a 5% "vig" on all Bank hand wins, the gaming establishment compensates for the percentage of winning Bank hands being slightly over 50%.
After figuring in the 5% "vig" that must be paid by bettors on winning Bank hands, the gaming establishment has a 1.23% advantage over the bettor when the bettor wagers on the Player hand and the gaming establishment has a 1.06% advantage over the bettor when the bettor wagers on the Bank hand. The Tie hand wager gives the gaming establishment a 4.88% advantage over the bettor when the payoff odds are nine-to-one and a 14.1% advantage over the bettor when the payoff odds are eight-to-one.
One of the detriments of the conventional manner of play of Baccarat is the necessity for calculating, recording and collecting this 5% "vig" on all winning Bank hand wagers. Many people are reluctant to sit down and participate because they do not understand the "vig" and why they should have to pay a 5% commission on winning Bank hand wagers. They may consider this unfair and something extra for the gaming establishment.
The gaming establishments also suffer disadvantages from the 5% commission. The determination of the 5% amount is done visually by a casino dealer and is subject to casino dealer error and disputes with the bettors over the amount of the "vig". The reconciliation and collection of the "vig" at the end of each shoe can result in delays of the beginning of the next round of play. If a bettor loses all of his money ("taps out") during a round of the game, the gaming establishment may have difficulty collecting the unpaid "vig" that has accrued to that bettor during that round of the game. It has been estimated that as much as twenty percent of the accrued "vig" goes uncollected. Because the house margin on Baccarat is so small, uncollected "vig" can seriously impact the profitability of a Baccarat table or the entire Baccarat pit, if more than one table is in play.
Another detriment of the conventional manner of play of Baccarat is the complexity of the "third card" draw rules. These complicated rules deter new bettors from participating in the play of Baccarat.
From the perspective of the gaming establishment, the play of a round of Baccarat should take a predictable length of time. An average of eighty hands are possible per each round of a shoe of eight decks of cards. During the play of each hand, the Player hand and the Dealer hand are dealt. According to the rules of Baccarat, each Player hand and Dealer hand may receive a third card. Winning wagers are paid and losing wagers are collected. The "vig" must be determined and recorded for each winning Bank hand wager. Because approximately half of the time the Bank hand will be the winning hand, it can be very time consuming toward the end of each shoe to record and accrue the amount of the "vig". Anything that slows down the actual play of the game results in decreased revenues to the gaming establishment.
There is a need in the gaming industry to increase the amount of revenue being generated by Baccarat tables over a given period of time without simply requiring the bettor to increase the amount of his wager.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a modified method of play of conventional Baccarat that increases the number of hands that can be dealt and played in a given length of time.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a modified method of play of conventional Baccarat that eliminates the need for the gaming establishment to collect a commission or vigorish during the play of the game.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a modified method of play of conventional Baccarat that simplifies the "third card draw rules" thus mitigating the possibility that dealer errors will occur in determining when and when not to deal a third card to either the Player or the Bank. Also new players will not have any difficulty understanding the "third card draw rules".
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a modified method of play of conventional Baccarat that permits additional wagering opportunities during the play of the game without slowing the game down.
It is a feature of the present invention to eliminate the collection of a commission or vigorish on each winning Bank hand or on any winning wager made during the play of Baccarat.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide that certain card combinations that would have been winning hands in conventional Baccarat are now simply push hands for which the bettor only receives his original wager back.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide that the "third card draw rules" are the same for the both the Player's hand and the Bank's hand. This simplifies the game and mitigates against the Dealer making mistakes during the play of a hand of Baccarat. Also new players will not have any difficulty understanding the "third card draw rules".
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide additional betting opportunities so that the bettor may wager that certain card combinations will occur during the play of a hand of Baccarat.
It is an advantage of the present invention that revenues to the gaming establishment will increase because more hands of the game can be played in a given length of time.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that the elimination of the commission or vigorish on the winning Bank hand wager will eliminate casino dealer errors and patron disputes regarding the amount of the vigorish and that revenue will not be lost when a player taps out without paying the accrued vigorish.
It is a further advantage that the simplified "third card draw rules" will speed up the play of a hand of Baccarat, will increase revenues generated for the gaming establishment, will encourage participation by new bettors and will cut down on the number of wrongly dealt hands.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that, by permitting additional wagers to be made that certain card combinations will appear during the play of each hand, the activity at the game of Baccarat will be increased resulting in additional revenues to the gaming establishment. The bettor will also receive additional opportunities to win during the play of the game.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.